The new cultivar is the result of planned breeding program, conductor by the inventor, Barry Fretwell in Exeter, Great Britain. The seed parent is an unnamed, unpatented, proprietary Clematis lanuginose. The pollen parent is an unpatented, proprietary Clematis patens referred to as seedling number 3/9/6. The cross was made during 2005 and the selection of the new variety was made in 2007.
After selecting and isolating the new cultivar, asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘BFCCFLA’ was first performed in in Exeter, Great Britain at a nursery by vegetative cuttings in 2008. ‘BFCCFLA’ has since produced multiple generations, and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.
The inventor has applied for Plant Breeder's Rights protection in Europe during December 2012. The CPVO File Number is 2012/2785. Plants were not available to the public until May 10, 2104 by an offer for sale through F.M. Westphal Clematiskulturen, a company in Germany. The inventor confirms, the company Westphal received plant material directly from the inventor. The relationship between the inventor and Westphal is further documented on page 2 of the EU application, which names Westphal Clematiskulturen as the procedural representative for the inventor. As this first public sale originated from a source receiving material directly from the inventor, and occurred within one year of this filing, the inventor believes he has met the requirement of U.S.C. 102(b). A copy of the EU application is included with this application at the time of deposit. The EU application verifies on page 4 that at the time of filing in the EU, no sales had occurred.